Three Palestinian journalists, one of them a contributor to the French news agency AFP, were killed Wednesday in an IDF strike in central Gaza. The military said its forces identified several suspects operating a drone linked to Hamas in an area that posed a threat to troops.
Immediately after the identification, and in light of the danger, the IDF “carried out a targeted strike against the suspects who were operating the drone,” it said. According to the military, “the strike was carried out in accordance with the required chain of approvals.”
Footage from the scene of the strike in central Gaza
Palestinian sources said the strike hit a vehicle belonging to the Egyptian Committee for the Reconstruction of Gaza, near the American Hospital in central Gaza, in the al-Zahra area. Following the incident, Egypt lodged a strong protest with Israel and demanded clarifications. The case was reported by several international media outlets, including The New York Times.
According to Palestinian sources, the three journalists killed were Mohammed Salah Kashta, Abed al-Raouf Shaat and Anas Ranim. Abed al-Raouf had been employed by AFP since February 2024 but was not carrying out work for the news agency at the time of the strike. The last report he filed for AFP was on Monday.
Hamas said that “the targeting of a vehicle belonging to the Egyptian aid committee in central Gaza, in which three photojournalists were killed while carrying out their work in displacement camps, constitutes a war crime and a grave violation of the cease-fire agreement.” The group accused Israel of continuing attacks on civilians and aid facilities and called on mediators and guarantor countries, led by the United States, to intervene immediately to enforce the agreement and condemn Israel.
An eyewitness to the strike told AFP that the three journalists had been “using a drone to film the distribution of humanitarian aid by the Egyptian aid committee when a vehicle accompanying them was struck from the air.” Mahmoud Azzam, who was also present, said the area where the strike occurred “was considered safe and humanitarian.”
Mohammed Mansour, a spokesman for the Egyptian Committee for Aid to Gaza, said that “a vehicle belonging to the committee was attacked during a humanitarian mission,” described the strike as “a crime,” and said all vehicles belonging to the Egyptian body bear its logo.
Earlier, the IDF said: “IDF forces identified a number of suspects operating a drone linked to Hamas in central Gaza, in an area that posed a threat to the forces. Immediately after the identification, and in light of the risk posed by the drone, the IDF carried out a targeted strike against the suspects who were operating the drone. The strike was carried out in accordance with the required chain of approvals. The details of the incident are under review.”